Wednesday, December 8, 2010

This is a recipe that I was playing with while developing recipes for the Kitchen Play SideCar Series featuring Woolwich Dairy goat cheeses. It didn't make the final cut for that post because it wasn't really holiday oriented but, I thought it was still good enough to share with all of you.
Figs & fig jam are so good with cheese I thought why not add them to the ultimate cheese dish, mac & cheese. To step up the cheese flavor I used two types of cheese, cheddar & brie. Oh, what a rich cream mac & cheese. The goat cheese melted beautifully & has such wonderful flavor. The figs are surprisingly good in here & their sweetness cuts through the richness nicely. It's a pretty classy version of mac & cheese that I think would make a great side dish with a lovely steak.

In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour & stir while cooking for 1 minutes. Whisk in the milk & cook until hot, thick & bubbly. Next, whisk in the cheese until melted. Stir in the wine then season with salt & pepper to taste.

Mix the cheese sauce with the cooked penne & chopped figs. Pour into a small ramekin. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes until golden brown & crispy on top.

One main dish serving or two sides.

Figgy Giveaway!

See those dried figs I used here & the ones in the Figgy (Bread) Pudding earlier this week? Well, those were graciously given to me earlier this year by the CA Fig Advisory Board. They are just so handy to have in the pantry to add a little something extra to recipes or make a quick appetizer. Now they want to send one of my readers a fig gift pack too. One winner will get dried Calimyrna and Black Mission figs, a fig t-shirt, a shopping tote & lots of fig recipes. Here's how to enter....

1. Leave a comment here telling us how you'd use your dried figs. You MUST have an email where we can contact you in the comment or on your profile. Comments need to be left on the post do not email us to enter.
2. Twitter about this giveaway & let us know with another comment.

We will chose a random winner from all entries on Wednesday, December 15th. Contest is open to US residents only.

I think I would make @Burp_Blog's Lamb Burgers with Figs, Caramelized Onions & Blue Cheese. That recipe calls for fresh figs, but i think the dried figs would be just as fun. I would, of course, also try your incredible mac & cheese.

Yum- figs would make a great addition to so many recipes! I came across one that sounds simple and would pair nicely with other holiday appetizers: Dried Fig, Brie, and Rosemary Bites (courtesy of Whole Foods: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/143)

i love fresh figs and have never had dried ones until my hubby bought me some, well i had a fabulous spread made dried figs and recreated and put my own spin on things. i reconstituted dried figs in red wine, then put figs, kalamata olives, garlic, and a few capers with pepper in a food processor bleding until spreadable, then i added chopped walnuts, this is perfect with goat cheese, sharp cheddar and crackers. yumm that is one thing i would do with my figs if i were to win,, I think the posabilities are endless.

I grew up in Fresno and miss fresh figs as I live in Wisconsin now. I'd create 'Fig Kuchen'. Why? Kuchen being an ethnic dish that I grew up coupled with figs (which is one of my favorite fresh and dried fruits of all time)would send me rapturously back in time. Thank you for the opportunity to think creatively!